


Legacy

by gehelen



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Memory Loss, post-hawkmoth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 18:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14086737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gehelen/pseuds/gehelen
Summary: Life have never been easier for Adrien Agreste.He goes to public school and enjoys the company of a caring father.The city is peaceful as always.And, the girl named Marinette is nowhere to be found.





	Legacy

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Legacy](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/366216) by 陌魇阡阳. 



> I wrote this fanfic in Chinese Mandarin first. I translated into English all by myself, so PLEASE forgive me for any possible mistakes I made. Thank you, and enjoy.

Nearly everything remained unchanged.  
That morning was clearer than ever, as if he was only having a nightmare the day before. He got up, went to school and greeted all his classmates. He handled Chloe in his usual way. He finished his model work professionally.  
Well, he DID avoided the eyes of his father when the man video-chatted him for his daily routine.  
Instead, he focused on the face of his father. He was forced to observe it. Where did the wrinkles come from? What about the white hair? The expression in Gabriel’s eyes seemed soft and caring, but Adrien looked away. This man in grief was a stranger to him, making him almost missing the cruel father he used to have.  
How could Being the most notorious villain in Paris possibly relieve pressure? How could the man lose his memory, give away his miraculous, regain a normal life and seem TORN-UP?  
He shook his head to keep these questions away. 

He felt uncomfortable for having so much free time at night, all to himself.  
No more patrols. No more fighting.  
He knew he might be asked to give the ring back in no time. Plagg said nothing, but he felt it.  
What superhero could he be with no villain in the city?  
He looked at his kwami, so quietly floating in the moonlight.  
“Plagg, I... ”  
The black semi-god shook his head: “Just say the magic words. ”  
Adrien stared at him in disbelief.  
“I know what you are going through. ”Plagg said calmly but painfully, “I know the spell she used, but it never came to my mind that anyone would ever use that spell. It was unfair to you, to Ladybug-she was such a good girl-and to Tikki. So if there’s anything you’d like me do, I’ll do it. For you. ”  
“Plagg. ”  
“You can always be Chat Noir, with or without Hawkmoth. You are a great kid. I didn’t say that a lot, but I do believe so. I will transform you, I want you to have the power and do whatever you deem worthy. I assume you need this. ”  
The smile Adrien presented was an insult to his good look.  
“Even if you say so, what can I do now after I transform? ”  
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. 

At last, he compromised and went into the night of Paris as Chat Noir.  
He settled on the roof of the bakery. He visited the very place after school today, as a normal student who was apparently hungry for some nice dessert. The couple welcomed him with joy like they always did. They both had their lives filled with positive thoughts, they were always delightful and hard-working, running the bakery well and made themselves famous.  
They remembered nothing. They were HAPPY.  
Chat numbly stared into the little skylight. There were only a few pieces of furniture in the attic, no longer suitable for living, but surprisingly clean. His heart twitched when he saw a sewing machine. He didn’t remember Sabine as a fan of fashion design, so what is that for? A freaking coincidence?  
The visit he made to this room came to mind. He was in a bad mood, she offered him hot coco and comfort. Marinette was a sweet girl. She always tried her best to make everyone around her feel cosy and cared.  
Only except when she was with him. She stammered every time, making him constantly worried about her hating him. How could he never see the hidden truth behind all this!  
She liked him. She LOVED him. Oh, of course.  
What a genius he was! 

He remembered hearing Tikki sobbing:“She chose to erase her existence from the world. This interferes with the laws and creates extra energy to make your father lose his memory and give up his plan. The rest of the energy helps keep the world in balance. I have no idea of the exact time, but I’m telling you that the planet will be just fine and peaceful in the next twenty years. ”  
“The price is...”Plagg continued, “No one will be able to remember her, except for you and us-perhaps Master Fu as well. The proof of her existence will disappear as well. ”  
“It can’t be. ”He didn’t even try to dry the tears, “They can’t just forget her! Her parents, her friends, the whole Paris, there’s no way that- ”  
“They will. Her parents will never remember having a daughter. Her identity information will vanish from every database. As for the others, they never considered her as an important part of their lives, so they will forget her in no time. ”  
“No...” Adrien bent down, “No, no, no. That is not the case...”  
Tikki begged: “Adien! You must transform immediately and leave here! Soon this place she created with her wish will collapse, you need to head home, now! ”  
“But I ...” He looked at the kwamis in pain.  
“Don’t let her die in vain. There something you must do. ”Plagg insisted.  
He said the magic words almost silently-for the first time. 

He didn’t know what to do. She dealt with everything. No one in Paris was hunting for innocent citizens. He father was quiet and sad. He went to public school and lived a normal life with his peers. What must he do? What must he deal with?  
He tried to mention Marinette’s name when talking to Nino and Alya. But they were completely lost.  
“A classmate of yours? ”Nino tilted his head, “I thought you were home-schooled. ”  
“I was...”Adrien replied helplessly,“She was my...”  
“I would really like to meet her. ”Alya shrugged, apparently not fond of the idea of being the deskmate of Lila,“She sounds nice. We might even become good friends if I even have the chance to meet her. ”  
The best of friends. Adrien said in his heart.  
Alya and Nino looked at each other with concern: “You okay? We were just thinking that you may have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed today. ”  
“I’m fine. I told the driver to stop at the bakery after school. ”He returned a tired smile, “I believe a nice Croissant won’t hurt. My photographer can’t murder me. ”  
“Yeah, sure. ”Alya seemed less tensed, “They also have the best Macaroons, get some if you can. ”  
This time his smile almost reached his eyes: “I will. ”

“Is there anything I can do for you, milady? ”  
Ladybug gave him a pale smile: “Perhaps there really is, kitty. ”  
He didn’t understand why she asked he to meet her at some abandoned building at midnight. They entered the building through the rooftop. Seeing the space cleaned-up, he realized that Ladybug had been here before. He didn’t understand, however, why she ordered him to close his eyes when she acted oddly and muttered something. When she held his hand and asked him to reopen his eyes, he saw a ball of light forming in front of them.  
“Ladybug? ”Chat smiled nervously, watching the ball becoming something like a wormhole, “What on earth are you doing? ”  
The flush on her face seemed unhealthy, considering how pale she was. Maybe she was just way too excited: “Tikki was right. The book was right. I did it! ”  
He looked at her with confusion, but her next move scared him to death.  
“Spots off. ”  
Everything happened too fast. Before he could barely see the expression on her face, she took her ear studs off and placed them in his hand. Then, she ignored the shocked Chat and the red kwami who was choking, and jumped right into the wormhole.  
The wormhole turned back into a ball of light in a instant.  
Two seconds later, it exploded. 

When Adrien recovered consciousness, he felt funny. It seemed that he was standing on something really soft. He looked around, noticing that he was in a ball, a ball that was covered with something like Ladybug’s superpower. Only this time the colour was pinkish, slightly lighter than he remembered.  
He realized that he was dressed in his civilian clothes. He looked up and saw Plagg cuddling with the red kwami. Neither of them said anything in return.  
He was about to ask when he heard that voice:  
“I can’t believe that I actually did that. ”  
He saw the girl behind him in class, his classmate, the first person he befriended after going to public school. She was no longer shy or nervous. She was looking at him lovingly, smiling.  
“Marinette? It’s you? What is going on-”  
“An ancient spell. This would only work with two or more miraculous holders involved. ”She explained, “After it is done, it might be compared to having the Ladybug and Chat Noir miraculous at the same time. It may not bring back lost things, yet it is still very useful. ”  
“I don’t understand.” Adrien couldn’t keep up with her, “You are the one that insisted we stop Hawkmoth, who is trying to capture our jewelry. Now you are doing the exact same thing...”  
“I am not taking anything from anybody. ”She smiled happily, somehow made she seem fainter , “I am different from Hawkmoth. He wants to break the balance of the universe. I will never. I carefully choose the sacrifice. What I’m trying to do hurts nobody. ”  
“Ladybug...” Adrien insisted calling her that, looking for similarities. They wore the same pigtails, they both have bluebell eyes, lovely pink lips and freckles on the nose. They have the exact same smile. Why did he never suspect that? He blamed himself for not seeing the resemblance.  
“I choose to whip my existence from the world. ”

“You can’t do that. ”  
He spoke with a shudder. Talking had never been so hard. His tongue refused to function.  
“Actually I can. That why it’s called magic.” Her voice sounded cheerful.  
“No, you can’t.”  
He retorted like a child. He was clever, clever enough for him to understand what she said: A sacrificed human life provides great possibilities. His subconscious made him take a wild guess that perhaps even more than her life would be taken to complete such a move.  
“It was tricky. ”She smirked, seemed overexcited from the magic she used, “I can’t change too many things with my life, so I went straight: All I need is to make sure Hawkmoth is powerless and doesn’t care about his goal. ”  
“No...”He felt something stuck in his throat, “All WE need is to defeat him, the two of us. We can do this. We have been unstoppable so far... ”  
“Oh, no. ”Marinette seemed upset all of a sudden, her voice became lower, “We can’t. ”  
“How come? We went through so much together, the power of you and me-”  
“Adrien.”She stopped him. He waited for her words.  
When she looked at him, her eyes were wet with tears: “I didn’t want to tell you but, but he’s your father. ”

NO.  
There was nothing left for him to say.  
That explained everything: His father was the bad guy, his friend was his partner and the love of his life. She didn’t want him to lose his only blood-relation, and she couldn’t stand leaving the world in chaos. So she chose to handle both problems with one shot.  
What the hell.  
She thought sacrificing herself to protect him and his father’s dignity was the only thing he wanted? She thought the stony-hearted father meant so much to him? They could have defeated him! Together! Even if that meant sending Gabriel to jail and casting the family name in shadow, he could accept that!  
Why he had to lose her? Why the world had to lose her?  
“Adrien.” She smiled gently, her body seemed unreal. 

 

-Forget me.   
I wish I could say ‘Forget me not’, but I must not be selfish.  
-No! Ladybug! I can never...  
My name is Marinette, you see? You already know me. Quit calling me Ladybug.  
-Please, Chat, you have to.  
I did this for the world. I did this for you. How can you not understand?  
-How am I supposed to...  
You can do this. You are so strong. You were always there for me when we fought together.  
Adrien, please.   
Be reasonable.  
-I can't do this!   
This is for the greater good.  
-I love you.  
You deserve to be happy. I would do anything for you. I love you as Chat Noir, I love you as Adrien.  
-I...  
I know. I’m sorry. You don’t need to love the plain me back, but you have to be happy. For me, please.  
-Forget me. And forgive me. 

Farewell. 

-Ladybug! Ladybug!  
Don’t leave me! Don’t leave your kitty alone.  
-Tikki! Talk to me! Where is she?  
My lady. My dear Princess. My...Marinette. My Mari.  
-Please...She can’t just vanish like this, right?  
No. Don’t. That can’t be.  
-What do you mean “the magic is beyond your control” ? And Plagg you knew the plan as well?  
Why didn’t you stop her! How could you!  
-So you’re saying that she sacrificed her life, her EXISTENSE to stop MY father Hawkmoth from being a villain?  
Oh my god what have I done! How could I never notice...  
-I love you...  
I love you too. I love you so. 

I love you more than life itself. 

Facing her parents was much harder than he thought it’d be.  
He tried to behave normally greeting them, purchased some goods and talked. According to the couple, they’d been married for more than twenty years, had no kids but lived happily.  
“It does seem weird sometimes. ”Sabine said gently, “Our attic is really lovely. I will definitely make it a bedroom if we ever had a child. ”  
He choked, felt like a loaf of bread in the paper bag moved into his throat.  
“That would be cute. ”the baker hugged his wife, glad seeing her sharing this little thought, smiled to the teenage boy, “Have a nice day, son. ”  
“You too. Bye. ”  
He couldn’t do this. He could not take this. 

He followed Plagg and returned Ladybug’s miraculous the night he lost everything. Master Fu signed when he placed the ear studs in a box. There were two more pieces of jewelry in the box than he remembered, but Adrien paid no further attention.  
He drank the tea and cleaned his face with a hot towel, appreciated the old man’s thoughtfulness.  
After the silent goodbye, he walked home in the dark and accidentally touched something in his pocket.  
The lucky charm she gave him.  
The lucky charm she gave Adrien.  
The unlucky, dumb alley cat didn’t deserve that.  
But he must keep it. That was the only thing he brought to the wormhole, thus becoming the only belonging of hers. That was everything she left.  
He sat down on the street, cried his eyes out with the charm in his hand. 

Nearly everything remained unchanged.  
While his sun would never rise, his moon and stars would never shine.  
This was her very way of showing mercy as well as punishment.  
He was her one and only legacy in the whole wide world.

**Author's Note:**

> I notice that the title "legacy" has more than one meaning in English, which is interesting. As far as I'm concerned, Adrien in this AU might never walk away from the trauma.  
> And, yes, I love them both. I do wish they live happily ever after.


End file.
